The Football Forecast

Paris Saint Germain: Europe’s newest MegaClub

In 2012, French football changed drastically. Qatar Sports Investments become the majority shareholder of Paris Saint Germain, and bought the club outright. Prior to the purchase, PSG were a big club, but not to the level of a Barcelona or a Juventus, clubs who have rich and vibrant European football history. PSG aren’t an old club, so they do not have the natural history of a club such as Liverpool, but they can etch their name into modern history, like Chelsea. Despite their status in Paris, they never made their mark fully on Europe’s top competition. The UEFA Champions League. Only now has PSG been able to make their mark in Europe, but I have a feeling that this season could be different, and join me as I give you an explanation why. *

Okay, so first, Le Parisians are a great footballing team. Yes, they maybe miles ahead in Ligue 1, but that’s not because of the other sides. Their opponents are great teams, PSG are just a lot, lot better. They have the ability to outspend any side in France, and most teams in Europe, but they don’t get the attention I feel that they deserve. A lot of countries look down at PSG because of their spending power, including England (ironic seeing as Chelsea did the exact same thing, but that’s another story). Angel Di Maria has been the premium attacking midfielder in Europe this season, but he is still seen as a flop because he couldn’t cope in a mediocre and quite frankly boring Manchester United side and Premier League.

It’s slightly disrespectful to look at PSG and snigger because “It’s only the French” because the truth is, they would dispose of most of the English sides in Europe this season, with relative ease. Sure, it’s only my opinion, but when you consider that last season a PSG side that isn’t as good as this season beat Chelsea, the English Champions, it almost proves my point.

The players in the PSG side are some of the best in the world, and are natural born winners. Try and tell Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic that they aren’t winners, and they aren’t good on the big stage! They know more about winning than most of the other sides in the competition. It’s just a myth.

If they can all get on the same wavelength, PSG can go far in the Champions League, simply because they are better than a lot of other sides. People do not pay attention to them in the same light that Ateltico Madrid and Borrusia Dortmund did when they reached the finals. For those sides, they slipped up when it mattered, but they didn’t have the potential in their squads to the level of PSG.

This could all be pointless in a month’s time, but that isn’t my point. My point is that we in Europe need to wake up, take a long hard look at a club who is building for the future in one of the greatest cities in the world, and realise they are a powerhouse of European football. The potential PSG has is frightening, and if we ignore it, we will pay the price.

*This was written prior to the Chelsea Vs. PSG Champions League game, so this may be pointless by the time you read this.